Hey everyone,
I've been trying to find rear quarter panel patches for my 1964 fairlane, and I can't find too much. I found some metal patch panels, but not for my year. The one thing I did find was fiberglass panels, which sounds a little strange to me. I'm pretty new to body work, so I'm sorry if this is a dumb question... but how would you attach a fiberglass patch panel to the rear quarter? I thought that if you fiberglassed them to the fender, the metal and fiberglass would heat up and cool down at different rates, and after a little while I'd get a big ol' crack. Does anyone know how to do this? Thanks in advance for all your help.

Hi Frank,
I've never heard of such a thing! I certainly would not use them. You are correct about the expansion rate. Sounds like way more trouble than it's worth. How bad are your panels?? Could you send a picture or two? One close up and another of the entire quarter would be good. Don't cut any of the old metal out yet. If you want, I'll guide you through making patch panels.

Hey Randy,
Thanks for your post! I thought it sounded a little fishy too, especially when the patches are 200 bucks each!!!!! The panels are pretty bad, it's not that the whole thing is rusted, it's just that where there was rust, the guy who had it before me cut out the whole thing and used like chicken wire and bondo to reshape it. Here are a few of the pictures:
The whole driver's side quarter. this side isn't so bad, most of it is metal, but the lower back part has a lot of mud over the metal, and a little bit of rust, so I wanted to just weld all new stuff in there:

Here's a close up picture of the passenger's side quarter. That whole wheel well is the bondo and chicken wire I was talking about. It's pretty impressive the shape the guy got out of it, but it's gotta go:

Here's a picture of the whole passenger's side:

Thanks again Randy, I'd really love to try and make my own patch panels. When you make the panels, do you form them out of metal so you can place them over the old panel (if the shape is good enough, that way you see where you need to bend) and then you cut out the bad piece, and weld them in? Don't worry I won't start cutting any metal any time soon, lol I'm going to college now so I'm trying to stay away from any big projects on the car. That would make me neglect my homework! I was just trying to find parts to order that I'd need for the summer. Thanks for your help!

Hi Frank,
The pictures are a big help. Thank You.
One good side is all you need, which you seem to have that, so now we can get down to it. You will need to sand it perfectly smooth and straight first before going to the next step. If you need to add more filler, go ahead, it'll eventually be cut out anyway. As long as you true surface the one side, that's all that matters. The bad side doesn't need anything, so don't waste your time on it. I would suggest removing all the chicken wire and bondo from the right side to see how much of it needs to be replaced, so that you make the pattern large enough to repair all the bad from the left (good) side. We don't want to end up short, so make the patch larger than what it needs to be and you can trim it to fit later. You will need a couple rolls of 1" transfer tape that you can buy from your local vinyl sign shop. They may have to order it, but it is available. They usually buy it in wider rolls, but can have it cut to any width. It comes in low, medium and high tack. I find the low tack to be best. If you have trouble getting it locally, let me know and I'll post an online source. You will also need a couple rolls of fiberglass reinforced shipping tape. Once you have these items and have the surface trued, we can move on to the next step.
What tools do you have available to you for shaping metal?
The flare will be the hardest part, but even it isn't too bad. You can do anything with basic hand tools. It only takes time and patience to do high quality work. Once you learn a few basic rules about shaping metal, it's really not that hard.

I'm currently building a set of aluminum front fenders for a '63 Z11 Impala. The pictures are posted in my gallery at www.metalmeet.com You may have to register to see them.

Hey Randy,
thanks again for the help with this. Ok I did a search online for transfer tape to find some suppliers, is it the double sided stuff like this? tape
I don't know of any vinyl sign shops around me, I was trying to find a sign shop a little while ago to get some pvc sheets from, but couldn't find any! But, I'll take another look! I'm pretty sure I can find that fiberglass reinforced shipping tape, I'll let you know when I have some, and when I get that fender shaped right!
After I get the tape and true the fender, what comes next? I know that step won't come for a little while, but this has just got me curious. Do I put the tape onto the good fender, mark where the edges are, and then take the tape off and put it on a fresh piece of metal to cut out the shape? then form away?
I registered on metalmeet, because I couldn't enlarge the pictures unless I was a member, but I just have to say, those fenders look AWESOME! If mine come out like 1/10 that good, I'll be happy lol. You do some great work, the work on that 39 looks great too.
I don't have many fancy metalshaping tools, I have the basic hand tools like hammers, body hammers, dollies, saws, stuff like that. And i have a dremel and some power drills and power saws, a big ol' air compressor and some air tools (da, air grinder, stuff like that). My dad has a metal brake that I've never used before, and just found out he had when I loaded up his truck today for him to do a roof job lol. But, I don't think I'd need that for this job. I also have an acetalyne torch if I'd need that (which I probably will, I bet I'll stretch the heck out of the metal). I believe that's all, if there's anything else I'd need let me know and I'll see if I have it, or if I can go get it! Sorry about this long post, Thanks a ton for your help Randy!

Hey Randy,
Thanks for that link! I understand what the transfer tape is now, but that second link said that the product wasn't found, is this the stuff? strapping tape

Sorry Randy! I wasn't going to go out and try to make panels right now or anything, I just got a little excited and curious about what to do next. I'll order those tapes and start fixing up the good side so that it's straight!
I'll try and rename the thread, I think you're right, it's a better idea to give it a different name. Heh thanks for letting me know what you think about the white and silver, I really like that combo too. Plus light colors don't get as dirty, my black bronco is like a dust vacuum! But, thanks again for your help Randy, I'll let you know when I get the tapes, and the fender trued.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.